Tag Archives | tourism

It goes without saying that Reddit has some pretty awesome content that can make even the most boring days more interesting. And for those with interest in Lebanese related stuff, there’s a fairly active subreddit (/r/Lebanon) with daily updates, vintage photos, interesting videos, and more…

One interesting contribution I came across today is a “cutural map” of Beirut by /u/EDBTZ0323 with locations for 40 prominent museums and art galleries in the city. I imagined it would be quite useful for art lovers and tourists alike and so I thought of sharing it here and you may check on this link.

Over the last few months I’ve been relying more on Taxi Hailing apps such as Uber to get around Beirut especially when I’m out with my kid and don’t really want to care about finding a parking spot. The apps are quite convenient and frequently run promo codes, so you end up riding most of the time at a discounted rate.

A new offering by Uber recently caught my attention so I thought of sharing it here. In an attempt from them to promote tourism within our country, they’re offering what they call the UberTOUR between August 28th and September 11th which basically allows you to hire a driver for 7 hours to take you wherever you want around Lebanon for a $50 flat rate. You can also extend the trip for a maximum of 3 hours at $7.2/hour.

$50 might sound like too much for some, but when thinking about the gas price and the less stress you have to endure in weekend traffic, in addition to the fact that you can share the ride with a couple of friends, I guess it quickly becomes to sound very reasonable!

If you intend to use the service simply open the app during the above mentioned period and make sure choose to slide to “UberTOUR” to request an Uber and enjoy your next outing!

I know YouTube is infested with Lebanese drone shot videos but some just stand out and are too good not to share. The one below is produced by Dark Matters and is available in UHD resoultion, so if you have a suitable display and a hopefully fast connection just let it load in 4K and enjoy the cool shots and music.

I just bumped into this video on YouTube showing five tourists who documented their journey around Lebanon in an unusual way. They compiled several segments of themselves lip syncing and dancing to the tunes of Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You.

The best thing about the video is that it was shot using a smartphone with no pretentious acting or moves all while showing some nice places around the country, so not much energy was put into it but the resulting video was still pretty cool to watch.

Among the places that show are Raouche, Jbeil, Batroun, Saida Castle, Saida Old Souk, Harissa, and Baalbeck. I believe if this goes viral then it can easily become one of the best promotional videos for Lebanon!

We’re definitely lucky to have somebody like George Ghanem producing documentaries about the recent history of Lebanon for our generation. He has so far produced and contributed in several good documentaries about Lebanon and remarkable Lebanese politicians such as Koullouna Lil Watan, Zaman Rafic Al Hariri, Lady of the Palace and others.

His most recent work deals with Casino Du Liban and it aired last weekend on MTV in two episodes. Just like Ghanem’s previous documentaries this one was also quite enjoyable as it introduced us to how the casino was established and quickly became a point of attraction until the Lebanese civil war intensified which eventually led to closing it down in 1989 and then reopening it later in 1996. The documentary also of cited the challenges that faced every appointed general manager due to political interference.

I highly recommend you check it out if you missed it on TV. The two episodes are available on MTV Lebanon website in HD.

I really don’t understand why municipalities keep on organizing such event a I personally find them to be really meaningless. At the end it isn’t like the cup is going to last for a whole month there to attract people to the city and really help boost their festival..!

So our national carrier Middle East Airlines seems to have made a new safety video to show on their flights featuring some of Lebanon’s beautiful places like Jeita grotto, the cedars forest, and the Pigeons’ rock.

Making a creative safety video is pretty cool and featuring beautiful sceneries from around Lebanon was a good idea, but what’s with the constant silly dance moves?!

So I finally managed to watch Parts Unknown season five finale on Beirut (via torrent download) and was quite disappointed.

The show is actually about food and travel, so I was expecting Bourdain to explore some of Beirut’s hidden gems but instead he went to Burj Al Barajneh refugee camp in the first part of the episode to learn more about the Palestinians living conditions here in the country. He then made several people speak about religious diversity and how the different sects coexist happily in Lebanon (especially Sunni and Shia these days!), and he later visited some Hezbollah supporter in Dahieh all while portraying the party as a mighty beast.

Moreover, he never failed during the episode to stress about the threat coming from the east, that is the Islamic state. So it was basically more about politics than anything else. I believe he could have simply aired some recent report about the political situation in Lebanon and spared himself a trip here.

Anthony Bourdain is back once again in Beirut to uncover more of the less known destinations in the city on CNN’s Parts Unknown.

The available photos show him at military the military themed bar Abu Elie, interviewing Michael Elefteriades and exploring Music Hall, as well as going on a tour with a group of motorcycle riders on the corniche.

The first time Anthony Bourdain came to Beirut was in 2006 and he was not able to finish his episode due to the 33-day Israeli war that broke out in July, so he later came back in 2010 and filmed it again. Back then he featured places like Pierre and Friends, Souk El Tayeb, Le Chef, Onno, Chez Maguy, and Falafel Sahyoun. I hope this episode features more places of the unbeaten path.

PArts Unknown airs very late at night our time by the way so you can catch the episode tomorrow morning on CNN’s website.

I’ve been following the #LiveLoveLebanon campaign lately, and I really respect the effort the people behind it are putting to let the tourism industry flourish again. But let’s be honest for a second, would you really recommend Lebanon as touristic destination to a foreign friend of yours?

I mean I know we’ve got some cool places, but the touristic experience Lebanon offers definitely doesn’t come anywhere near the ones offered by several countries around us like Turkey, Dubai, Cyprus and Jordan maybe.

So just in case you were saving money for a summer vacation in Lebanon, here are 8 reasons why you should go spend it somewhere else.

1. Bad infrastructure

Commuting inside the main cities is guaranteed to get you stuck in traffic for hours, and planning long trips will cost you an an arm and a leg due to our bad public transportation system. Meanwhile, other countries have metro networks to make your life much easier!

And talking about bad infrastructure, you should probably know we still suffer from power outages here.

2. Expensive beach resorts

What’s summer vacation without beach? You probably have been to other countries and are used to the fact that beach is for everyone, but that’s not valid here in Lebanon. Access to beach resorts costs $30-35 / person. And don’t you dare to order a sandwich from their local restaurant, the bill will most probably knock you out.

On the other hand, nearby destinations have gorgeouspublicbeaches where you can get your own food and snacks!

People may now argue that public beaches DO exist here in Lebanon. But the question is, are they advertised to tourists?

3. How the hell do I get there?!

Ok, we get it, Balou’ Bala and Nahr Ibrahim among many other places are pretty cool. But how the hell can one reach them?! It is true that we have some hidden gems around the country, but well they’re just… very well hidden!

Unless you know someone here who knows his way around very well, you will most probably just stick to the main boring attractions. (e.g Zaitunay Bay, Hamra, Malls, etc…)

4. Overpriced restaurants and clubs

The trend for restaurants nowadays is claiming to use premium Angus beef to justify the inflated prices on their menus. Wait until they hear about the Kobe beef!

I truly believe we pay a lot of money here in Lebanon for mediocre service and food quality. On the contrary, and trust me on this, you get much better dining experiences in Dubai and Istanbul for less money.

5. Angry people everywhere

Most of the people here seem to be constantly frustrated or upset at something! We always have something to whine about. We whine about electricity, internet, politicians, traffic, world cup broadcasting rights, and then we take it all on each others when driving!

People elsewhere are happier because unlike us they don’t need to worry about basics like water and electricity, and therefore you don’t get depressed everytime you look at them!

6. No, you’re not scoring tonight

So you’re coming from one of the gulf region where Lebanese girls have the reputation of being so easy and you’re expecting to get laid with every chick you meet, right? NOT REALLY! Beirut is not the sin city you think it is, and it isn’t really easy to get laid around here.

If sex tourism is your thing, spare yourself the time and just book a trip to Pattaya, the mother of all sin cities!

7. Safety first

How the hell do you plan a trip to a country where explosions occur randomly?! And even if these explosions are thought to be limited to certain areas, WHY TAKE THE RISK?!

8. Organized chaos

Lebanon is nothing but a state of organized chaos. We cut off each others when waiting in line, we hate to stop on red signs, we let the valet parking people rule our streets, we block roads for no reason, and yet for god knows why we just love how things go around here!

For all of the above, just go put your money somewhere else and don’t let anyone fool you with talks about how good the nighlife here is, we indeed have an interesting nightlife scene, but it’s definitely not worth it. Lebanon is seriously so overrated as a touristic destination.

And finally, you as a Lebanese better stop wasting money on expensive restaurants, clubs and resorts, and I guarantee in a few months you will save enough money to go on a trip or two to some really cool places!!